Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine has a case constituting an external shell. The case has at least one wall defining sides of the case. One of the sides has an integral guide at a center of the one side. A washing vessel slides within the guide and has an inside and detachably coupled sealing cap on an opening into the inside. A shaker is coupled with the washing vessel for shaking the washing vessel and a balancer is mounted to an inside of the at least one wall for supporting the shaker from the at least one wall, for absorbing vibrations of the shaking relative to the case and for maintaining a balance of the case.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a washing machine in which a washingvessel of the washing machine is oscillated up and down to carry out awashing.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, in the conventional washing machines, a washing vessel isrotated by the action of a motor, or vanes installed on the bottom ofthe washing vessel are rotated, thereby washing the articles to bewashed.

In such conventional washing machines having the above describedstructure, when the water in the washing vessel is rotated, the articlesto be washed are also rotated. Therefore, the frictions between thewashing water and the articles to be washed are very weak, with theresult that the washing performance is lowered. In order to solve thisproblem, the washing vessel or the vanes are rotated in the forward andreverse directions repeatedly so as to produce eddy currents. Thus thefrictions between the water and the articles to be washed are increased,so that the washing would be improved, this being the typicalconventional method.

The problems of this conventional washing method are such that first thearticles to be washed are twisted, and the articles to be washed areentangled with each other. Second, rotation speed of the washing vesselor the vanes is limited (usually 100-400 rpm), and therefore, strongwater currents and waves can not be generated, with the result that thecleaning quality is worse than a hand wash. Third, in order to improvethe cleaning quality, an auxiliary device such as an air bubblegenerating device is required. Fourth, the rotating directions for thewashing vessel or the vanes have to be reversed from the forwarddirection to the reverse direction repeatedly.

These problems are common to the washing methods in which water currentsare produced through the rotations of the washing vessel or the vanes.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is intended to overcome the above describeddisadvantages of the conventional techniques.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a washingmachine in which a washing vessel containing water and articles to bewashed is sealed up, and then the washing vessel is oscillated to makethe air within the vessel broken into micro air bubbles, and to make thetiny air pores pass through the articles to be washed so as to clean upthe articles to be washed, and in which strong water currents and strongwaves are generated to improve the cleaning performance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a washingmachine in which the twisting of the washed articles is maintained tothe minimum, and the washing is completed within a short period of time.

In achieving the above objects, the washing machine according to thepresent invention includes: a case; a washing vessel installed withinthe case, and having a detachably coupled sealing cap; a shaking meansfirmly coupled with the bottom of the washing vessel for oscillating thewashing vessel; and a balancing means for supporting the shaking means,for absorbing the vibrations, and for maintaining a balance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following descriptions taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, where in:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the washing machineaccording to the present invention, showing the critical portion thereof

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view taken along a line A--A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along a line B--B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a shaking means in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention, i.e., a cylinder and acrank of a crank case;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of an upper dead point and a lowerdead point of the crank of the washing machine in accordance with thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a partly cut-out perspective view of the washing vessel inaccordance with the present invention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is a longitudinal sectional view of thewashing machine in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, showing the critical portion thereof. The washing machineaccording to the present invention includes: a washing vessel 10 foraccommodating a washing water and washing articles; a shaking means foroscillating the washing vessel; a balancing means for supporting theshaking means, for absorbing the vibrations, and for maintaining abalance; and a case 10a for supporting the balancing means and forsurrounding the washing vessel, the shaking means and the balancingmeans.

Referring to FIG. 1, there as shown in this drawing is a sectional viewtaken along a line A--A of FIG. 1, a sealing cap 12 is threadablycoupled with the top of the washing vessel 10. The washing vessel 10 ispartitioned into a washing room 14 for accommodating a washing water andwashing articles and a spare room 16 for adjusting the weight of thewashing vessel 10. The washing room 14 and the spare room 16 arerespectively attached with water supply hoses 18a and water draininghoses 18b.

The outer circumference of the washing vessel 10 is slidably coupledwith the inner circumference of a guide 10b of the case 10a.

The shaking means is coupled with the bottom of the washing vessel 10for shaking the washing vessel 10. In the embodiment of the presentinvention, the shaking means oscillates the washing vessel up and down,and descriptions will be made based on this embodiment.

The shaking means for carrying out the above described functionsincludes a crank device which converts a rotating power to areciprocating power. The crank device includes: a rotatably installedcrank shaft 21; a crank weight 22; a crank arm 24; a crank pin 26; apiston rod 28 rotatably connected to the crank pin; a piston 30connected to the piston rod 26; a cylinder 31 for accommodating thereciprocating movements of the piston 30; and a housing 20 surroundingall the cranking parts. Owing to the reciprocating movements of thepiston 30, the washing vessel 10 is oscillated up and down.

Now this will be described in more detail.

The shaking means includes: a crank shaft 21 rotatably coupled with bothends on a housing 20, and having a passive pulley 23 at one end thereof;a crank weight 22 coupled with the crank shaft 21 and having a certainweight; a crank arm 24 extending from the crank weight 22, and connectedwith a crank pin 26; a piston rod 28 with one end connected to the crankpin 26, and with another end rotatably connected to a piston 30; and aconnecting member 32 with one end connected to the piston and withanother end connected to the bottom of the washing vessel 10.

The connecting member 32 is surrounded by a bellows 34 which is made ofrubber. The housing 20 is provided with an oil inlet and an oil outlet,and the oil inlet and the oil outlet are sealingly closed with screwcaps, so that the oil of the interior would not be leaked.

Further, the faces on which the piston 30 and the cylinder 31 contact toeach other are formed in a special pattern, so that the piston 30 wouldperform smooth sliding reciprocating movements, and that the noise wouldbe kept to the minimum. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 3, the crosssection of the cylinder 31 is formed rectangular, and a groove 38 isformed on each inner wall of the cylinder 31 in the lengthwise direction(vertical direction). Each of the four sides of the piston 30 isprovided with a roller 40, so that the rollers 40 would be fit into thegrooves 38, and that the piston 30 would be freely move up and downwithin the cylinder 31.

In the drawing, the cross sections of the cylinder 31 and the piston 30are rectangular, but they may be round. That is, on the round surfaces,grooves can be formed in the vertical direction at certain intervals,and rollers can be provided so that the rollers would be fit into thegrooves, thereby obtaining the same effect.

In the shaking means which is constituted as described above, theelements enclosed in the housing 20 receive a revolving power from apassive pulley 23 to perform interlocked movements, and to shake thewashing vessel 10, with the result that vibrations are produced. Thesevibrations have to be damped, so that the life expectancy of the washingmachine can be extended.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the shaking means is supported by abalancing means.

Link members 44 are installed at the both sides of the case in asymmetrical manner, and therefore, only those which are disposed on oneside will be described. Therefore, the same part are assigned with samereference codes.

The balancing means includes: a base frame 42 disposed in the horizontaldirection separated from the bottom of the case 10a for supporting thehousing 20; a plurality of link members 44 pivotally coupled to the bothends of the base frame 42; a balancing lever 50, with its one endpivotally connected to one end of the link member 44, and the other endpivotally coupled with a supporting bracket 48 projecting from the innerwall of the case 10a, and also connected to an elastic body 46projecting from the inner wall of the case 10a.

The washing machine of the present invention constituted as abovementioned will now be described as to its operation and effect.

As shown in FIG. 1, first, a certain amount of articles to be washed isput into the washing vessel 10, and then, the top of the washing vessel10 is sealingly closed with a sealing cap 12. Meanwhile, the washingwater is supplied through the supply hose up to a certain level. If thesupply of water is insufficient, there is the possibility that thewashing articles may be damaged, and therefore, the water supply shouldbe sufficient.

Meanwhile, if the crank weight 22 and the crank arm 24 are assumed to besymmetrically disposed around the crank shaft 21, the weight of thecrank weight 22 will be equal to the total weight of the crank arm 24and other connected parts. In this circumstances, the vibrations of thehousing 20 and the washing vessel 10 will be kept to the minimum duringthe operation of the washing machine.

Therefore, when the washing articles are put into the washing vesselafter measuring their weight with a scale and the like, and when thewater is supplied, it is desirable that the total loaded weight of thewashing vessel should be equal to the weight of the crank weight 22.Therefore, during the manufacturing of the washing machine, the washingvessel should be designed such that the total weight of the washingarticles and water should not exceed the weight of the crank weight. Ifthe weight of the washing articles and water is smaller than the weightof the crank weight, the unbalance should be compensated.

In order to compensate such an unbalance, a spare room 16 is providedunder the washing room 14, so that water can be supplied through asupply hose 18a into the spare room 16 as much as to be compensated.After filling the spare room 16 with water, a drain hole which is closedor opened by a solenoid valve is properly opened, so that the balancecan be maintained. Here, the spare room 16 is provided with the usualwater level gauge such as a floating gauge, so that the water level canbe made known.

As the above mentioned, thus, after putting washing articles into thewashing room 14, the washing room 14 is sealingly closed with a sealingcap 12. Then, if a power source is connected, a motor (not shown) drivesthe passive pulley 23 which is coupled to the crank shaft 21. Then thecrank weight, the crank pin, and the crank arm which are enclosed withinthe housing 20 are driven, so that the piston rod 28 and the piston 30would perform reciprocating movements in the vertical direction.

Therefore, the connecting member 32 which is firmly connected to thepiston 30 causes the washing vessel 10 to perform reciprocatingmovements up and down.

When the washing vessel 10 performs reciprocating movements up and down,the air above the water level within the washing vessel 10 is brokeninto small babbles to be mixed with the washing water.

As shown in FIG. 5, the movements of the washing vessel 10 are limitedto between the upper dead point T and the lower dead point T1 of thepiston 30. Initially, when the washing vessel 10 moves from the upperdead point T to the lower dead point T1, or from the lower dead point T1to the upper dead point T, and when the washing articles and the washingwater move owing to their inertia, the air is broken into fine drops,with the result that water comes to contain large amounts of fine airpores. At the same time, wild water currents and waves are generated, sothat washing can be done by the air bubbles and water currents.

The velocity of the piston is zero at the upper and lower dead points,and is maximum at the middle point between the upper and lower deadpoints T and T1. Therefore, after several seconds from the initialstage, the washing vessel and the washing water move at almost samevelocity. However, in actual, the washing water lags behind as much asthe height L1 of the air-filled space.

Therefore, if it is assumed that the average velocity (m/sec) of thewater is indicated by V, if the piston stroke (the stroke of the washingvessel) is indicated by L, and if the revolution speed (rpm) of thecrank shaft is N, then the average water velocity becomes:V=(2LN)/(60)=(LN)/(30).

As can be seen in the above formula, when the crank shaft revolves oneround, the washing vessel performs one return reciprocating movement,and therefore, the total moving distance of the washing vessel becomes2L. Further, when the crank shaft revolves N times, the total movingdistance of the washing machine becomes 2LN, and therefore, in order toobtain the moving distance per second, 2LN is divided by 60.

According to the above formula, the velocity of the water current isdetermined by the revolution speed of the crank shaft. Therefore, as therevolution speed of the crank shaft is increased, so much the washingability is improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the height L1 of the vacant space of thewashing vessel above the water and the washing articles corresponds tothe distance over which the washing water performs reciprocatingmovements between the bottom of the sealing cap 12 and the bottom of thewashing vessel 10. Further, the total volume of the air bubble which aremixed with the water is equivalent to the volume of the air layer(vacant space) above the washing water and the washing articles. Thus itis desirable that a proper volume of the air layer (vacant space) isleft, so that air bubbles would be formed to wash the washing articles.

For example, the washing time and the washing ability are differentdepending on the revolution speed of the crank shaft. However, theheight L1 of the vacant space and the piston dstroke L2 were set to aratio of 1:1, and the volume of the washing water including the washingarticles and the volume of the vacant space were set to a ratio of 4:1.Under this arrangement, when a washing was carried out by driving thecrank shaft at 600 rpm for 30 minutes, a satisfactory washing result wasobtained.

If a faster washing is to be carried out, the revolution speed of thecrank shaft can be increased, so that a satisfactory washing effects canbe obtained within a short period of time.

Further, in order to an improved washing result during the reciprocatingmovements of the washing vessel up and down, a plurality of horizontalannular grooves 10c are provided on the inner circumference of thewashing vessel 10, so that eddy currents of water would be producedduring the reciprocating movements of the washing vessel, and that athree-dimensional washing would be possible.

When the washing is carried out by shaking the washing vessel, not onlythe washing vessel is shaken, but also the housing 20 is oscillated.Therefore, a balancing means for supporting the housing 20 is providedto absorb the oscillations of the crank case and the washing vessel, andto absorb the noise. Thus the constituting members are made to operatemore smoothly. This will be described in more detail below.

As shown in FIG. 1, at the moment when the washing vessel begins toreturn after being moved upward or downward, the washing water currentswhich drift between the bottom of the sealing cap 12 and the bottom ofthe washing vessel 10 collide each other. From these collisions,vibrations and oscillations occur, and therefore, these vibrations andoscillations are absorbed in the following manner. That is, a base frame42 is made to support the housing 20, and the both ends of the baseframe 42 are connected to link members 44. The link members 44 arepivotally connected to balancing levers 50, and the upper end of thebalancing lever 50 is connected to an elastic body 46. Thus the impactswhich acts on the base frame 42 upward and downward are elasticallyabsorbed and offset. The elastic body 46 includes a tension orcompression spring which tends to be restored to the original state.

According to the present invention as described above, strong watercurrents and micro air bubbles are produced to improve the washingperformance, and the twisting and entangling of the washing articles areprevented.

As the above mentioned, the present invention was described based on thepreferred embodiment, but it should be apparent to the ordinarilyskilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be addedwithout departing from the technical conception of the presentinvention. These changes and modifications should come within the scopeof the present invention which is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A washing machine comprising:a case (10a) forconstituting an external shell of a washing machine, said case having atleast one wall defining sides of said case, one of said sides having anintegral guide (10b) at a center of said one side; a washing vessel (10)for sliding within said guide and having an inside and detachablycoupled sealing cap (12) on an opening into said inside; shaking meanscoupled with said washing vessel for shaking said washing vessel; andbalancing means mounted to an inside of said at least one wall forsupporting said shaking means from said at least one wall, for absorbingvibrations of said shaking relative to said case, and for maintaining abalance of said case.
 2. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein saidwashing vessel (10) has a plurality of horizontal annular grooves (10c)on said inside of said washing vessel at certain intervals.
 3. Thewashing machine of claim 1, wherein said shaking means comprises:ahousing (20); a crank shaft (21) rotatably coupled at opposite ends tosaid housing and having a pulley (23) at one of said ends for rotatingsaid crank shaft; a crank weight (22) coupled with one side of saidcrank shaft for counterbalance; a crank arm (24) extending from anopposite side of said crank shaft to a crank pin (26); a piston (30); apiston rod (28) with one end connected to said crank pin rotatablerelative to said crank arm and another end rotatably connected to saidpiston; and a connecting member (32) with one end connected to saidpiston and another end connected to said washing vessel.
 4. The washingmachine of claim 3, and further comprising:a cylinder (31) for saidpiston that has inner walls in a rectangular cross section.
 5. Thewashing machine of claim 4, and further comprising:grooves (38) in alengthwise direction at intervals on said inner walls of said cylinder;and rollers (40) on said piston for mating with said grooves to makesaid piston move smoothly.
 6. The washing machine of claim 1, andfurther comprising a partition for partitioning said inside of saidwashing vessel into a washing room (14) and a spare room (16).
 7. Thewashing machine of claim 1, wherein said balancing means comprises:abase frame (42) disposed in a space between said washing vessel and saidcase for said support of said shaking means, said base frame havingopposite ends; link members (44) pivotally coupled at one endrespectively to said opposite ends of said base frame; supportingbrackets (48) and elastic bodies (46) each having one end projectingfrom said at least one wall; and balancing levers (50) with one endpivotally connected respectively to another end of said link members, anopposite end respectively connected to said one end of said elasticbodies, and a pivotal coupling between said one and opposite endsrespectively to said one end of said supporting brackets.